State takes over Oslo hotels for King Harald’s funeral, forcing ordinary guests out

What do you do when the state demands the hotel room you already booked? That is the question facing ordinary visitors to Oslo as authorities requisition rooms for foreign dignitaries attending King Harald’s funeral on Wednesday, Sept. 9.

Several Oslo hotels have been included in the emergency plan surrounding the king’s death. Reports say eight hotels have been ordered to reserve rooms for high-ranking guests. Grand Hotel Oslo has the largest allocation. The hotel, known for hosting celebrities and heads of state, has 284 rooms, including 54 suites. The funeral procession will pass the hotel on its way from the Royal Palace to Oslo Cathedral.

Rooms at the Grand Hotel have been impossible to book during the funeral period since Aug. 31, according to E24. Other hotels in the plan include Hotel Continental, Hotel Bristol and Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel.

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extremely limited

A distressed American tourist shared an email on Reddit saying his stay at Thon Hotel Opera in Bjørvika had been canceled. Thon Hotels wrote that the entire hotel had been requisitioned by Norwegian authorities and that it could not provide alternative accommodation because hotel availability was “extremely limited.”

Ida Naper, a communications adviser at Thon Hotels, said the screenshot appeared to come from the company’s customer service department. The company did not answer questions about refunds or compensation. “No comment,” said group executive Morten Thorvaldsen. Grand Hotel manager Toril Flåskjer also declined to comment on how many rooms were included in the plan or how many guests might have to leave. The Foreign Ministry says it has emergency agreements with private operators, but keeps the details confidential for security reasons.

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